December 6, 2004
Mobile Operators Seek Higher Sound Quality
Japanese mobile operators are taking phone sound systems to the next level with stereo-quality songs that can be fully downloaded and edited, as well as surround-sound systems that trick users into hearing a bell ringing behind them or a ball whizzing by, reports Reuters.
-- DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile operator, earlier this month unveiled its latest line of phones, which include what it calls compact disk quality "three-dimensional sound."
In addition to music, the phones promise to give users a much more enriching game-playing experience by combining 3D graphics.
-- Vodafone K.K., the smallest of Japan's main operators, also said it considers sound to be one of the more important features, particularly since it offers phones with embedded antennas that allow users to watch television.
But, researchers at DoCoMo have gone a step farther, working on a next-generation 3D sound technology, which can make mobile phones produce sounds that appear to come from different directions.
In a museum, for example, consumers can receive commentaries on their phones as if they were coming from the artifacts themselves, or a business executive could be on a three-way conference call via mobile phone and the other participants' voices would appear to come from two different directions to avoid mix-ups.
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